Obama Exceeds Bush in Immigration Enforcement

The number of deportations of undocumented immigrants under President Obama is 10 percent higher than it was under George W. Bush.

By

July 29, 2010

Obama’s our Commander in Chief, sure—but is he also our Deporter in Chief? The Washington Post recently reported that the deportation of undocumented immigrants under his administration is even higher than it was under George W. Bush. And while this administration has aimed to deport only those who’ve committed crimes while on American soil, the Post found that thousands of ordinary undocumented immigrants have been sent home. Nation Washington Editor Christopher Hayes gives us the rundown as guest host of TheRachel Maddow Show.

Hayes compares the rampant rounding up and deporting of any and every undocumented immigrant with, say, a decision to hunt and punish every college pot-smoker. “Imagine if the federal government decided to attack the drug problem in this country by going after any and every pot-smoker they could get their hands on at college campuses across the country?” Hayes asks. “Most people wouldn’t find that to be a good use of federal law enforcement resources, and the same should be true of the sudden spike in deportations… Deportation is the most heavy-handed way of dealing with the immigration problem in this country… and it’s a way of treating the symptoms rather than the causes.”